Saturday, 29 November 2014

It's almost winter in Switzerland, and I was thinking about making a dress for cooler days from a warm and cozy fabric when Beccie from Sew Retro Rose announced her "Swirl Dress Sew-Along". Well, Beccie lives in Australia, and I guess it must be very summery there right now, so this project at first sight seemed a bit weird, but then - you can't have enough nice dresses!

The pattern is from 1960 and definitely out of the time-range I prefer, but Swirl dresses have been made throughout the 1940s and 50s, and I liked the wrapped part on the back, so I thought I give it a try. Especially as I recently purchased the "Fleur" dress from Hayday which is very similar and amazingly comfortable to wear.

I planned to use one of my vintage fabrics, as I wanted my Swirl dress to have a true vintage touch. The fabric I picked is from the 1950s, and when it arrived it was still crisp and in like-new condition. It certainly needed a simple pattern to do the generous print justice. However, on a first look it was slightly too small. The sad thing about vintage fabrics. You have only the amount you buy. Full-stop.
However, I somehow managed to cut my pattern pieces from the material I had chosen, even if I had to make the facings from a solid fabric.

Beccie's time-schedule for the sew-along was not too strict, and I finished my dress in time. However, I was caught by a very nastily flu, and I spent an entire week blowing my nose, coughing, drinking tea, and recovering. By the time writing this post, I'm still sick…

Weather in this season in Switzerland usually is dreadful, and in my condition it was probably not the best idea to pose outside in a short-sleeved thin cotton dress. So after I finally convinced my dear husband to take some pictures, we decided to make them in the evening in front of the fireplace. So these photographs resemble the look of the good wives when the welcomed their husbands after work at home. In a nice clean dress, hair-style and make-up re-done freshly to please the husband's eyes. Well, I usually do not look like that.

I found a matching Czech glass button. And I could wear some true vintage jewelry made of enameled metal.

I had to make some adjustments to the pattern, but I generally am very pleased how the dress turned out. And - I have overcome my pocket-phobia! I am so happy with the pockets I definitely will not skip them anymore on my next projects. (Usually did so.) You may notice that the pockets I made are different from the ones on the pattern. It was an optional style that the host of our sew-along provided, and I immediately was fascinated by the special shape of them. I had to try them - and I love them!
There's still a gap on the front neckline, but I can live with it. If I make the same pattern again, I will keep that in mind.

I always had a fondness for wrap tops and wrap dresses (they are very forgiving), and after the sew-along I went on a hunt for another similar pattern. And look what I found! It's a similar style, a back-wrapped dress, but from the 1940s, with an amazing bodice shape. I already cut a new dress. Let's swirl!

Pattern: McCall's 5411 (1960)Fabric: vintage cotton print from the 50s (from Etsy)Shoes: Clarks (last time I wore them I ended up with a torn ligament…)Button: glass button from the Czech Republic, reproWatch: vintage from the 1940sJewelry: vintage (from Etsy)Lipstick: Diva by MAC

Thursday, 13 November 2014

I ordered recently a vintage pattern (yes, another one…). But when I saw it I couldn't resist, and as I still didn't have a 1940s peplum dress pattern in my collection, it was really necessary to make this purchase.

So today it arrived. I often try to look my "new" patterns up in the internet to see how many of them same design are out there, or if it's a rarity.

I was quite surprised when I found the same pattern again from an Etsy shop (the item had already sold earlier). Same design. Same number. Same size. But - different cover illustration. It happens sometimes that the designs on the pattern envelopes differ in colour, but I have never seen such a case before. They are like sisters.

I am wondering why there is a different issue of the pattern. The women's hairstyle on my pattern look rather like late 1940s or early 1950s, while the other ones look like earlier 1940s. It might be the pattern was issued a second time, a little bit later, and the illustration was slightly adjusted to changed hair fashion?

However, I am very excited to make this dress. I wonder if a peplum will look unflattering on me or not.

About Me

This blog is like my grandma's box of buttons - mostly from earlier decades, some new ones. Being crafty ever since, I made all kind of crafts, but mostly sewing. Over the last few years, I became a vintage-fabric-and-pattern-addict.

I'm living in Switzerland, in a small village, with my Italian husband and two marvellous kids in a small house with a big garden, growing more than 100 roses.